Alumni Profile: Lindsay Doyle improves health outcomes through quality & informatics, neonatal care

Growing up with a mother who works as a licensed practical nurse, Lindsay Doyle ’20N (MS), CPNP, NNP, knew she was interested in a career in healthcare from a young age.

She started college in a pre-med program with aspirations to become a pediatrician, but an opportunity to shadow a neonatal nurse practitioner at Newark Wayne Community Hospital changed her mind. On one shift, the NP she was working with was called to deliver a baby with a cardiac defect, giving Doyle a firsthand look at how NPs manage care for high-risk newborns.

“I was sold,” Doyle recalled. “I remember thinking how amazing it was that an NP could practice independently in the community and ultimately make a great impact on families.”

She called her mom, told her she was switching majors to nursing, and turned in the paperwork later that week.

That pathway proved to be an excellent fit for Doyle: she went on to start her career as a bedside nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Strong Memorial Hospital, earn a master’s in the School of Nursing’s pediatric and neonatal NP program, and practice as an NP at Golisano Children’s Hospital (GCH).

“Pediatrics and neonatology are so interesting. Kids have their whole lives ahead of them, so everything we do in each interaction we have with them will shape that journey and what the rest of their lives can look like,” Doyle said.

“The NICU is especially unique,” she added. “We get to interact with babies and their families in the very first days, weeks, and months of their lives and provide a positive experience. It’s special to be part of that journey and provide them with a foundation. There are times when you get to go in and help a baby who’s one pound, and they grow up to live a normal, healthy life – it’s spectacular.”

In addition to caring for children and families at the bedside, Doyle has also found fulfillment in her role as a quality and informatics specialist advanced practice provider (APP) at GCH. She serves as a liaison between the hospital’s Nursing Informatics and Quality & Safety teams, helping to lead quality improvement efforts for the Children’s Hospital and optimize the way clinicians utilize technologies and interact with the medical record.

“I've always had an interest in informatics, how we interact with technology and the medical record, but really how it impacts the way we provide care,” she said. “It’s different than my clinical care, but I can impact not only the way our NICU providers and nurses deliver safe care and utilize technology, but all of GCH.”

Across both of her roles, Doyle is driven to lead meaningful change – for patients and families, as well as the staff who care for them.

Reflecting on her decade-long career so far, Doyle feels the most pride in her small victories: as a clinician, receiving a Christmas card from a family she supported in the NICU whose child started kindergarten, or running into former patients at the Strong Stroll for Kids 5K; and in her informatics and quality role, digitizing an outdated workflow that used to be on paper, or hearing that a quality improvement project to which she contributed made a colleague’s daily work easier.

How does the work you do in nursing practice, quality, and informatics make a difference?

"My work both directly and indirectly impacts the way we care for patients, the care they receive, and their health outcomes. I hope that by leading improvement efforts, in conjunction with improvements in the way clinicians interact with technology and the electronic medical record, this will ultimately lead to better outcomes for patients and families, as well as improved staff satisfaction and wellness."

Who from the School of Nursing has inspired or impacted you?

"I was fortunate to complete the Pediatric NP program alongside six of my colleagues from the NICU, including my best friend. Now, we all practice there as nurse practitioners, which was special. I am very grateful to have gone through this, along with the transition into our NICU APP roles, together. We were also the cohort who unfortunately experienced the first COVID-19 shutdown in 2020. Completing the program, clinical hours, and virtual graduation are all things I’m sure none of us will ever forget.

Both Erin Baylor and Patrick Hopkins are two faculty members that particularly stand out from my time in the PNP and NNP programs. Erin provided immense support and leadership throughout the entire program, but specifically during the beginning of the pandemic, when we were all at a loss for what to do with clinical hours and how to complete our program. Patrick's work and support in the NICU were also invaluable for so many of us in our transition from bedside nurses to nurse practitioners.”

What advice would you share with other nurses?

"Take every opportunity to immerse yourself, ask questions, seek learning experiences, and get involved however you can, whether you’re just starting as a bedside nurse or becoming an APP. If someone is interested in pursuing quality or informatics work, even if not in a full-time position, I would encourage those same things: find ways to get involved, whether it’s on the unit, in your department, or elsewhere. I didn’t have formal training in quality or informatics and learned everything on the job. Sometimes, it’s a matter of not being afraid to say, ‘Hey, can you teach me how to do that?’ or ‘Tell me more about that.’ Curiosity can go a long way."

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